Which life insurers offer Outstanding Value in 2020?

Find out which providers have come out on top in this year’s life insurance Star Ratings and Award results.

Whether you already have a life insurance policy or have been thinking of taking one out, the coronavirus outbreak may be bringing the importance of planning for the future into stark relief. For some, this includes taking another look at their policy to ensure it still provides enough cover for their needs, or looking around to see what cover could be available with a new policy. 

At a time when household budgets are being squeezed, some consumers may also be considering whether their policy is offering value for money or if they could save by shopping around.  

For its part, the life insurance industry has responded to the coronavirus crisis by committing to support new and existing policyholders, including by working flexibly with customers experiencing financial hardship. 

If you are considering your life insurance needs at the moment, Canstar Research has assessed and rated 23 products from 23 providers on our database and has identified the ones offering outstanding value to consumers. 

How are products and providers assessed?

For Canstar’s Life Insurance Star Ratings, products on our database are assessed on both price – monthly premiums – and a range of features such as ease of application, payment options and comprehensiveness of cover. Each product is rated against 20 different consumer profiles based on age, gender and smoking status. Products are assigned a total score in each profile, 70% of which is composed of its price score and 30% of which is made up of its feature score. Products found to offer outstanding value to consumers in individual profiles are given a 5-Star Rating. 

Our overall Outstanding Value Award is given to providers with the highest cumulative scores across all 20 consumer profiles considered. 

How much could a 5-Star Rated life insurance policy save you?

The table below displays the price difference between the average monthly premium of a 5-Star Rated life insurance policy and the average monthly premium of a non-5-Star Rated policy, for each combination of age, gender, and smoking status.

2020’s Outstanding Value Award-winning life insurance providers

All three winners of this year’s Outstanding Value Award for life insurance also won the Award last year and in 2018, while this is NobleOak’s fifth consecutive win, having won the Award every year since 2016.  

Allianz Australia 

Allianz has won another Outstanding Value Award for life insurance, based on its strong performance across a number of consumer profiles. Canstar Research said Allianz performed well overall, and scored highly on price by maintaining all premiums at 2019 levels. On the features side, the team said Allianz performed particularly strongly for cover, as its Life Plan product ensures customers can get cover under a broad set of circumstances.

Insure Me Now 

Insure Me Now once again received an Outstanding Value Award for its life insurance offerings, based on its strong value proposition to customers. According to Canstar Research, Insure Me Now maintained its premiums at 2019 level across all profiles, meaning it continued to offer competitive pricing across the board to a diverse set of customers. Canstar Research also noted that Insure Me Now’s Superior Life Insurance Cover policy allows customers to make a claim for a wide range of events.

NobleOak Life Ltd

NobleOak has successfully held onto the life insurance Award that it has won every year since 2016. It won this year due to its competitive premiums, and received a 5-Star Rating in every consumer profile assessed. According to Canstar Research, NobleOak’s Premium Life Direct policy continues to provide a high level of value to consumers, providing cover for terminal illness and funeral benefits among other policy features.

The life insurance products that won a 5-Star Rating this year

Below is a full list of the life insurance policies that received a 5-Star Rating in each consumer profile, sorted alphabetically by provider name. 

Female non-smoker in her twenties

Female smoker in her twenties 

Male non-smoker in his twenties 

Male smoker in his twenties 

Female non-smoker in his thirties

Female smoker in her thirties

Male non-smoker in his thirties 

Male smoker in his thirties 

Female non-smoker in her forties 

Female smoker in her forties 

Male non-smoker in his forties 

Male smoker in his forties

Female non-smoker in her early fifties (50-54) 

Female smoker in her early fifties

Male non-smoker in his early fifties 

Male smoker in his early fifties

Female non-smoker in her late fifties (55-59)

Female smoker in her late fifties 

Male non-smoker in his late fifties

Male smoker in his late fifties 

For more information on how the Star Ratings & Award results are calculated, you can read the Life Insurance Star Ratings and Award methodology. You can also view the full Ratings results.

This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Tom Letts and Finance Editor Sean Callery before it was published, as part of our fact-checking process.

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